Capital Improvements Committee Bylaw

The following is the complete Capital Improvements Committee Bylaw, which is excerpted from the Town Bylaws which can be found online here.

CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS COMMITTEE BYLAW [Adopted at the Special Town Meeting of October 14, 1987, approved by the Attorney General November 24, 1987, and posted according to law February 27, 1988]

[Amendment to Capital Improvements Committee Bylaw adopted at the Special Town Meeting of January 25, 1993, approved by the Attorney General March 2, 1993, and posted according to law March 10, 1993, changed the word "Accountant" to “Finance Director" so that it reads References to the Finance Director were replaced with reference to the Town Manager by Article 19 of the Annual Town Meeting held on April 30, 2018 approved by the Attorney General on August 29, 2018 and posted according to law on October 5, 2018]

Section 1: The Board of Selectmen shall establish and appoint a committee to be known as the Capital Improvement Planning Committee, composed of one member of the Board of Selectmen, one member of the Finance Committee, and five at-large members. The representative from the Board shall be appointed by the Board for a one-year term. The Finance Committee shall appoint a representative to serve a one-year term. The five at-large members are to serve a three year rotating term. The Town Manager shall be an ex-officio member without the right to vote. The Committee shall choose its own officers.

Section 2. The Committee shall study proposed capital projects involving the planning for and the improvement, preservation and creation of tangible assets and projects which 1) have useful life of at least five years; 2) cost over $20,000 and or 3) for which the town is authorized to borrow funds. Capital projects shall be submitted to the Capital Improvements Committee (CIC) at a date to be established by the Committee for consideration at the following Annual Town Meeting, or four months before a Special Town Meeting, except when emergency financing is necessitated by an accident, fire, judicial order or other similar special circumstances. All officers, Boards and committees, including the Selectmen and School Committee shall give to the CIC, on forms prepared by it, information concerning all anticipated capital projects requiring Town Meeting action during the next fiscal year and five ensuing years. The Committee shall consider the relative need: impact, timing and cost of these expenditures and the effect each will have on the financial position of the town. No appropriation shall be voted for a capital improvements requested by a department, board or commission unless the proposed capital improvement is considered in the Committee's report. The Committee shall not fail to report on any proposal that has been properly submitted.

Section 3: The CIC shall prepare an annual report recommending a Capital Improvement Budget for the next fiscal year, including any items to be funded in the current fiscal year, and a Capital Improvement Program including recommended capital improvements for the following five fiscal years. The report shall be submitted to the Board of Selectmen not later than six weeks prior to the Annual Town Meeting for its consideration and recommendations. The Board shall submit the Capital Budget together with its recommendations to the Annual Town Meeting.

Section 4. Such Capital Improvement Program, after its adoption, shall permit the expenditure on projects included therein of sums from departmental budgets for surveys, architectural or engineering advice, options or appraisal; but no such expenditure shall be incurred on projects which have not been so approved by the town through the appropriation of sums in the current year or in prior years, or for preliminary planning for projects to be undertaken more than five years in the future.

Section 5. The Committee's report and the Selectmen's recommended Capital Budget shall be published and made available in a manner consistent with the distribution of the Finance Committee report. The Committee shall deposit its original report with the Town Clerk.

Source: Adapted from a form presented in the "Massachusetts Finance Committee Handbook", Stuard DeBard, Association of Town Finance Committees.

Section 6. [Section 6 added at the Annual Town Meeting, second session, on May 6, 2009, approved by the Attorney General on August 11, 2009 and posted according to law on August 20, 2009.] The provisions of Sections 2 through 5 of this Capital Improvements Committee Bylaw shall not apply to capital projects, appropriations, or expenditures made under authority of the Community Preservation Act, Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 44B, or the Community Preservation Committee Bylaw.